A House For Sticky

     There's always the wish that I could bring that special stray cat in the house.  And such is the case with Curly, who we later renamed Sticky.  If one thinks about the name when they see him, then his appearance gives his name away.  The shorthaired domestic is not curly haired.  But because of his health, he is skinny.  At one time, we wanted to bring him inside.  The neighborhood kids harmed him, which resulted in our taking him to the vet.  That was when we found out he has feline leukemia.  We had no choice but to leave him outside.  He would infect our indoor cats if we brought him in.  I guess he never forgot how the neighbor kids hurt him, because he stayed in our front yard,  and slept on our front porch. 
     With approaching cold weather, what was Sticky to do for shelter?  The front porch brought no protection from the cold wind that blew across it.  We had nothing on the porch.  He lay on the bare concrete.  Would Sticky survive the winter?  We fed him on the front porch.  All the other stray cats were fed in the back yard, and Sticky wouldn't go back there.  A dominant female named Likes 'em Green attacked him every chance she got.  He had been neutered during that long ago trip to the vet.  We were giving him every chance to live.  Now with winter approaching, we did not want to be responsible for his demise. 
     There was a forecast of extreme cold weather to come.  "I need to start building Sticky a house,"  my son Kevin said. 
     A trip to the hardware store to buy wood, hinges, and various other supplies had Kevin beginning his building project.  He knew he would need to build it high so Sticky would be out of reach of stray dogs and other predators.  In the end, with material and even a heating pad for the inside, it cost nearly a hundred dollars.  We even painted it.  When it comes to the love of an animal, the money is not of importance.  The house sits high beside the front porch. There is a stool placed beside it on the front porch so the cat can jump up to the entrance. The heating pad cord goes outside the back side of the little house and through our garage window, where we have it plugged in to provide continuous warmth. 
     Although Sticky has been neutered, he still must be some kind of ladies' man.  A black stray female cat has moved in with him to share the space.  We named her Shady.  It becomes comical when we arrive home from somewhere and driving up our driveway, we see heads poking out of the house's entrance.  Down will jump Sticky followed by his girlfriend, Shady.  The house is certainly doing its job.  Unless some other misfortune takes either cat, they are set for the cold. 
     People have dog houses for their dog.  We now have a cat house for our cat.  I am so glad that Kevin built a house for Sticky.

The Disappearance

     Skillet was our favorite outside cat.  Having enough indoor cats kept us from bringing her inside.  However, we did take her to the vet a few times.  Once we took her for infected eyes.  Another time, there was unexplained bleeding that took us there.  High inside the vet office she jumped.  She was never going to be an indoor cat.  Yet, we still kept as good care of her as we could with her being an outdoor cat.
     Long periods of time, Skillet would come up missing.  A neighbor once said, "She was caught in my air vent.  She remained there until we finally got her out."  It was no doubt that Skillet was using every one of her nine lives.  This incident and others had us wondering if some day Skillet would not come home. 
     As my son washed his vehicle in the front yard one day, up came Skillet meowing.  She ate a little, but she continued to meow.  She acted as if she wanted to be followed.  My son did not feel like he could follow her across the street onto someone else's property. He ignored her and continued washing his vehicle.  Even I saw Skillet's strange behavior.  And I did nothing.  I sincerely regret not giving her the attention she was asking for.  Having taken cats previously to the Humane Society for poisoning, I have always wondered if Skillet was asking for help.  Was she poisoned?  I don't believe there was a litter of kittens involved.  It was something else.  And that was the last time we saw Skillet. 
     A cat purrs when it is happy.  A cat meows when it is hungry.  A cat hisses when it is angry.  There are so many signs it gives to communicate.  It would be so  much simpler if a cat could talk though.  I wish I had known that day what Skillet was trying to tell us.  It still haunts me. 
     My son once said, "When Skillet passes away, I hope she comes home before so I can bury her."  He really loved that cat.  She was actually more his than mine.  We are only left to wonder.  The outdoor cat we loved the most, must have gone away to die.  It's a lonely death when a human dies with no one.  It's probably the same with the animal kingdom.  There is so much I don't know about cats.  One thing for certain is that I love cats. I especially loved Skillet. 
     In my heart, there is a void.  But at the same time, there is a love that remains forever.  Skillet will be missed.  But she left some fond memories.  Also, she left us two of her children.  There was Little Tush who became an indoor cat after some neighbor kids broke her back after kicking her.  We had no choice but to bring her indoors to heal.  She still lives inside with us.  We were so glad when she tested negative for feline leukemia, otherwise she could not have come in.  Her brother , Sticky also got injured outside. Sticky, sadly, tested positive for  feline leukemia and we had no choice but to leave him outside where he could not infect our indoor cats.  We still continued to take care of him as well as we could with him still outside.  We had him neutered in hopes that other male cats would not run him off.  Hopefully, he knows to stay away from those who want to harm him.  He stays mostly in our front yard.  Still, he needs to be protected from predators and the weather. 
    

     Read in two upcoming stories about Sticky and his house.  It will begin in my dog blog entitled, "Chasing Sticky" and will end here in the cat blog entitled, "A House For Sticky."